WORLD NEWS
Alaska State Troopers have seized methamphetamine
welded inside a hydraulic engine hoist that was shipped
to Ketchikan from Seattle, according to Associated
Press. A 53-year-old Ketchikan man was charged with a
felony drug count in the case. Officers from the troopers’
statewide drug enforcement unit, the Ketchikan police,
and the Coast Guard took part in the investigation at a
Ketchikan freight carrier. Troopers say a drug dog located
111g of the drug.
Atlas Copco has agreed to acquire the assets of
Johannesburg-based Renegade Drilling Supplies, a
South African manufacturer and distributor of drilling
consumables for mining exploration. The business will
be part of the Rock Drilling Tools division in Epiroc, the
wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlas Copco that will be listed
on the stock exchange in 2018 pending shareholders’
approval. Renegade Drilling manufactures and distributes
mining exploration drilling consumables, such as drill rods,
in-the-hole tools, and diamond drill bits throughout the
southern African region. “We are happy to bring the strong
team at Renegade Drilling into our Group,” said Helena
Hedblom, president of Atlas Copco’s Mining and Rock
Excavation Technique business area. “This acquisition
will expand our product portfolio and establish a regional
footprint for manufacturing of mining exploration
consumables.”
6
FEBRUARY 2018
Three Linden Comansa tower cranes are
being used to help build Colombia’s largest
infrastructure project: the Ituango hydroelectric
power plant. Once the plant starts operating
at the end of 2018, it will generate up to
2 400MW of clean energy, nearly twice the
1 240MW output of the San Carlos power
plant, currently the country’s largest.
The CCC Ituango Consortium, comprising
the Colombian construction companies
Conconcreto and Coninsa Ramón H, as
well as the Brazilian construction company
Camargo Corrêa, is carrying out the main civil
works on this project for EPM (Empresas
Públicas de Medellín, Colombia’s main
utilities company), which will involve a
70km-long reservoir. There are currently three
The Wacker Neuson Group reported revenue of
EUR378.7-million for the third quarter of 2017 — an
increase of 20% against the same period in 2016
(EUR315.7-million). The Group’s earnings before interest
and tax (EBIT) reached EUR40.0-million, up from EUR20.4-
million in 2016, resulting in an EBIT margin of 10.6% (6.5%
in 2016). The light equipment segment increased by 14%,
while the compact equipment and services segments
reported increases of 27% and 11%, respectively. Europe,
which accounts for around 75% of the Group’s revenue,
reported a 17% increase in revenue for Q3 compared
to 2016. Revenues were also up in the Americas (32%
compared to 2016) and Asia-Pacific (up 14% from 2016),
with Australia emerging as the main growth driver.
Revenue for the first nine months of the year rose 13% to
EUR1.14-billion, compared to EUR1.01-billion in 2016. EBIT
for the same period was up 42% to EUR101.0-million for
an EBIT margin of 8.8%, compared to EUR71.1-million and
7% in 2016.
Linden Comansa helps build Colombia’s largest
hydroelectric power plant
The cranes have been assembled on a folding
base with travelling system so they can be
moved on tracks, thus making the best use
of resources.
Linden Comansa tower cranes installed on
one side of the dam that is being built, which
will reach 225m in height.
One 20-tonne capacity 21LC450 and
one 8-tonne capacity 16LC185 are being
used to build a controlled spillway with a
design flow of 22 600m 3 /second. Both these
cranes have been set up to reach a height
of 60 metres and have been assembled on
a folding cross base with travelling system
so they can be moved on tracks installed on
the ground, allowing for better coverage of
the site without costly and time-consuming
disassembly and reassembly.
The third Linden Comansa crane, the
8-tonne capacity 11LC160, was initially set
up to help build the tunnel that will provide
road access to the spillway, before being
moved to assist with the two intake tunnels
that will take water from the reservoir to the
machine room and turbines. The 11LC160
was set up w